Chris Elsberry: Players 'xploding' onto college baseball scene

Updated 6:02 pm, Saturday, November 23, 2013

TRUMBULL -- On the table that had been set up in the back of the baseball training facility were seven red hats with an "X" logo on them. Draped over seven chairs were sweatshirts with "Xplosion" stitched across the front. Next to the hats were seven sheets of paper and seven pens -- seven national collegiate letters of intent waiting to be signed.

And standing off to the side watching it all was one proud coach.

Some nine years ago, Joe Iannucci started his Xplosion Baseball company. Not only does he teach baseball fundamentals and coach all aspects of the game, but he also runs several travel teams that compete in the summer and fall all over the country, playing some 50 to 60 games.

And just last week, seven players from those teams and various high schools around the area gathered to sign their letters of intent to play college baseball.

"I've been looking forward to this for years. It's been my dream to play college baseball and playing at an Ivy League school is a great opportunity," said Jake Levison, a senior center fielder at Trumbull who will play at Penn.

"I just feel blessed to have this opportunity. I started coming here (to Xplosion) when I was 11 or 12. It was huge. High school is fun and it's a great experience, but it doesn't teach you all the different things about baseball, and coming here, it developed me into the player I am today."

Since he opened, Iannucci said he's helped close to 40 players sign with college programs at the Division I, II and III levels.

"We try to teach better baseball. Better coaching, better teaching, better instructing," Iannucci said. "We play better teams, we face better competition and we try to create a better atmosphere for these kids to get to the next level, either college or professional.

"Right now, we have around 150 kids in the program. Sacred Heart University works out here. Some nights it's absolutely crazy here. (Players) are able to come here and train and it gives them an avenue to get better."

Jimmy Palmer and Mike Foley both signed with Rhode Island. Palmer, a senior shortstop at Law, hit .386 last season with a .491 on-base percentage, while Foley, a senior center fielder at Warde, batted .466 last season.

"Everything's done well here," Foley said of the Xplosion clinics. "Joe does a great job here ... throwing, fielding, working out. I wanted to get better hitting for power, consistent power. I had never had a lot of help in those areas before this year."

"I started here when I was 12," Palmer said, "and I've been with coach I (Iannucci) for five years. It helped me a lot ... Coach I knows the game so well. His hitting philosophy is sound and just having a place to come and work out and get better ... it helped me so much."

With the Connecticut high school schedule limited to 20 games (not including conference and state tournaments), the more games these players can play, the better they can become. So Iannucci has Xplosion travel teams starting at 9-under all the way to 18-under. Several of the players who just signed letters took part in a recent tournament in Jupiter, Fla., where Iannucci said close to 300 coaches and scouts attended.

"You could see the golf carts and the radar guns all surrounding the fields, so you know they're there," said Kevin Hickey, a senior pitcher/first baseman at Ludlowe who will play at the University of South Carolina-Upstate. "It was really good because you get really good exposure, playing against the best teams down there. I started to come here when I was 10. I've gotten so much better all-around."

The same with Adam Dulsky, a catcher at Staples who will play at Division III Williams College next season.

"I started coming there when I was 14," said Dulsky, who missed last season due to a broken wrist and just started playing again in August. "I wanted to take my game to the next level and Coach I really helped me do that.

"Playing here is really huge, especially in the summer and fall seasons to get that work in. Lots of swings and lots of innings because those game reps are what's going to help you most in the spring."

Along with positive reinforcement. Like so many, Drew Arciuolo loved the game but didn't know just how good he could be. After his senior year at Notre Dame-West Haven, Arciuolo will play at Fairfield University.

"I wanted to elevate my game, get more serious with it. I decided that this would be the next step," Arciuolo said. "When Joe told me I could be a Division I player, I believed him. It's all hats off to him. To be honest, it was a dream, but once I heard that, I just elevated my game."